Special Guest Expert - Ken Honda: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

Special Guest Expert - Ken Honda: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Daniel Aaron:
What does it take to create a vibrant, thriving life? First, the sad news is that Thoreau was right most people are leading quiet lives of desperation, lacking in meaning, fulfillment, and vitality. But we choose more. We choose to create extraordinary lives and the art of vibrant living. Show entertains you with inspiration, empowerment and education to create your life into a masterpiece. It's time. Let's vibe up. Aloha, y'all. Daniel Aaron here I am, your host and this is the Art of Vibrant Living show. We have a very cool and exciting show today. You are going to love it. You're going to love our guest. I'll tell you about him in a moment. First of all though, what the heck is this show about the art of vibrant living. It is your potential, your birthright. It doesn't tend to happen accidentally, meaning you living your most vibrant, thriving life. It takes some intention, usually some education, and then some effort and some action. So my request, I implore you, you're going to learn some phenomenal things today. And yes, you're going to go, yeah, yeah, yeah, cool. And take at least one thing that you hear and say, I'm going to try that out. I'm going to put that into action in my life and do so as quickly as you could. And if you would like some help, if you've got feedback, please send me an email. Daniel at Daniel aaron.com I would love to connect with you, love to meet you, love to serve you in whatever way I can. Today's show is with a guest by the name of Ken Honda, who's an author and a speaker wrote an amazing book called Happy Money. In fact, how I got here is because a friend recommended the book to me and I once I got into it, I devoured it. It was so beautiful and I don't usually read a bio. I usually tell you all about the guest that's coming up. This bio though, is the coolest bio I've ever got, so I'm going to read it to you word for word. Is your money smiling. Our guest today is Ken Honda, author of Happy Money The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money. Ken, how can we tell if our money is happy?

Ken Honda:
Ken.

Daniel Aaron:
Thank you so much for joining us.

Ken Honda:
Hi everyone. I'm so happy to be here and thank you for the invitation.

Daniel Aaron:
It's a pleasure. It's an honor. I'm glad to meet you. I'm glad to get this chance. Um, you know, I got so many questions for you, and you've got so much experience. But first, would you tell us I have just a little advantage, having read your book and met you a little bit, but for those that don't know you, how did you get here? How did you get to this place in your life?

Ken Honda:
That's a big question. Uh, and I was born into a very unique family in Japan. My father was a very successful tax accountant, so he started teaching me about money since I was 5 or 6. And because of his education, I started my business when I was young, about 20 years old, which is pretty unique for Japanese, uh, young, uh, person to do, uh, Japanese people prefer working in a big companies. Right. So I became an entrepreneur, uh, and I, I was successful enough to be able to retire at the age 29 when my wife and I found out that she was pregnant. So I had a four years off of my life since 29 to 33. And then I got this inspiration, uh, three years into the semi-retirement, I got this inspiration to write, which is bizarre because I was, uh, doing consulting and accounting and writing is not my forte, but I this this, uh, I couldn't resist this temptation to write. So I started writing a few pages of book, uh, uh, essays, and I started handing over to them. I stapled them every day. I got sore hands, and, uh, my friend suggested I should hire a printer, and the order got mixed up instead of, uh, ordering 300. He said, uh, the minimum is 1000. And I was just about to sign the contract for a thousand booklets. He said 3000 is cheaper. And I signed the contract. A few weeks later, two trucks came in front of my apartment, and then, uh, lots of boxes. So I said, okay, I'm going to get rid of these boxes. I told my wife and she said, uh, I'll give you three months, either boxes out or you out. And then I went crazy just calling my friends. You said my writing is good. I'll give you 20 booklets or 30 booklets, and I just gave away 3000 in a matter of a few weeks. And I got so many orders for free. Uh, the requests for free copies. I printed another 3000. I printed another 5000. By the time I gave away, uh, about 100,000 copies, a publisher called me, and they wanted me to write a book, and the rest is history. I published about, uh, 100 books and sold about 9 million copies for the past two decades.

Daniel Aaron:
That's amazing. Well, so. And what can you say more? What was that impulse to write? I get that it was, you know, it was unusual for you, but but you know, the calling was there. What what was the impulse for you?

Ken Honda:
Uh, you know, at the time, we used to spend hours in a park nearby, and, uh, one day I was with my daughter. She loved swinging, right. So I just pushed her for, like, 30 minutes. Like, I'm probably, like, up to 45 minutes. And then we had a little snack time, and it was like 2 or 3 in the afternoon. The sun is beautiful. And then this mom and daughter came in and just, uh, they started using the swing for like two minutes. And then after about 4 or 5 pushes, uh, the mom said, we got to go, uh, your mom has to work. And the girl was crying. You know, we just got here, and she was so right. They got there like three minutes before, and, uh, but she was pulled off of a swing and then literally dragged out of the park. She was crying heavily, and my daughter and I kind of stood there like, what's going on here? And I realized, you know, I spent three years, uh, without working. And I realized that people need to work to bring money, uh, to bring money to, to bring food on the table. And, uh, if she had enough money, if she knew how to use the money, how to make the money work for her, she probably enjoyed another few hours in the park. And then I thought, okay, I think people should know about money. You know, people should know more about money so they don't have to work for the money. They can work the money for them. So I started writing, uh, a few pages about what you should know about money. And then that booklet, uh, became a book, and, uh, I thought I'd finish in one book and the second book and the third book and the fourth book, they started to sell like millions of copies, and I became an author and speaker.

Daniel Aaron:
Wow. That's great. And and what that brings two things to mind. One is it's I think that's pure entrepreneurial ism in the sense that you saw a problem or you saw somebody suffering and you realized, hey, I could help, right? Right. And not just that woman. Hopefully she got a copy of it. Um, but but but other people. Right. And so that brings me to a question, one that I seem to ask a lot on the show. Right. Because, as you know, the show is about how to live a vibrant life. And very often my guests are entrepreneurs and we often talk about business. So what's your sense of the relationship between entrepreneurship and vibrant living? Or, you know, is there one or if there is, what do you see?

Ken Honda:
So and I have trained, uh, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs for the past 30 years, you know, including my past career. And what I found out is that you have to know the right size for you. You know, I think everyone is born with a right minded container size, the right, uh, business container size. If you want to grow it too fast, it's going to crack. If you want to be bigger than you are, it's going to crack. So you have to know the right size. You know, if you are, uh, destined to run a, like a company with 100 people, uh, you should go for it. But if you're container is not that big, you should be satisfied with three employees and, uh, certain amount of money. So you have to know when to grow. Otherwise there is no, no end to growing your business. And also there's no end about making money. You know, once you start making money over $100,000, you feel like, uh, now next $300,000, now, next million dollars now next $5 million. I need a private jet, I need this, and I need that. And then the list will just keep going on. So you have to know, uh, how much is enough otherwise, uh, being an entrepreneur requires a lot of time. So the motivation behind starting a business is you want to live your life. You want to enjoy life. But entrepreneurship could eat up most of your time and your soul, too. So you have to be very careful. Otherwise you lose your peace of mind. You lose your quality time with your family members or and with your friends. So you have to understand how business works, and then you have to be 80% satisfied. Otherwise, if you try to be, you know, full, uh, you need more food.

Daniel Aaron:
Okay. Makes sense. Right? And, uh, there is that Japanese principle of eating right is the same. Eat until you're 80% full.

Ken Honda:
Yes.

Daniel Aaron:
So that's fascinating. Then it begs the, to me, the automatic and obvious question. How do you know what's the right size container for you?

Ken Honda:
If you're feeling a lot of stress, you're just you're doing too much. If you feel like this is good, this is fun, you know? Uh, I think that's about the right, right amount of food. You know, when you feel like you want to throw up, that's like you've ate too much, right? So if you feel like you're suffocated, you feel like, you know, can I pay the bills or, like, uh, have to hire two more people? And if your life becomes too hectic, I think, uh, you're just doing above, uh, what you're capable of. So, uh, please don't lose your peace of mind over money or business, but unfortunately, a lot of entrepreneurs do. So you have to know, uh, what is enough? Otherwise you keep running in the rat race.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. There's, uh, there's a saying that an entrepreneur is someone who will work 80 hours a week because they don't want to work 40 hours a week for someone else.

Ken Honda:
Yes, exactly.

Daniel Aaron:
And it does seem from observation to me that a lot of the people who say I'm going to be an entrepreneur actually want to think of it. Not many of them really say, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. They more often say, I'm going to do this, I'm going to start this thing. Um, even the concept or word of entrepreneur isn't there, though I would say that probably the majority of the folks that I observe, and a lot of the ones that I work with and serve myself generally start out anyway, not very happy with it, you know, feel disappointed, right? There's the the title of Michael Gerber's book, the the E-myth. Right. It's the myth that if you start a business, then it's going to be lots of free time and tons of money. Um, so but I like what you said because it does. You know what it implies that there is a right size container for everybody. Um, and probably for most of us, we have to pendulum swing, like, okay, a little bit too big, a little bit too small. And then we find the medium for that. Do you, uh, do you have suggestions for folks, um, further on how to find that right amount or how have you helped people to find that right sizing?

Ken Honda:
So I think the key is networking. You know, if you have enough network of people who support you financially, emotionally, you're all set. Just, uh, think of it. If you have, say, 300 people supporting you, uh, say like they, they send you a $50 per month, and if you have 300 people, that'll be $15,000 monthly income right there. So you don't have to just start a big corporation, you know, like Tesla or Microsoft. But if you just have a if you win the hearts of 300 people and provide them, uh, enough quality service. And then you and your family can make a living. So just come up with something that supports you and your family and that will be the minimum. And then, uh, offer them, uh, enough good quality service so you can keep going. You may want to grow your business furthermore, but that would be the basics. And then if you think, okay, this is the minimum, uh, that I, you know, to, to run my business, to support my family. And you can ask yourself what's next? And then if you just want more, you can give more and then you receive more. So, uh, otherwise if you just try to say like, I will make $1 million a year, you know, and then a lot of people, uh, go driven. And if you are goal driven like that, you will lose peace of mind.

Daniel Aaron:
Then this makes sense. You you said a couple of things that really caught my attention there. In terms of advice. The way I heard it is this maybe his advice for young entrepreneurs and one is win the hearts of and provide good service for. Right. And from my experience, oops, there was a fireworks. That must be exciting, something I said. Um, the, um. You know, in my experience of of reading your reading your book and seeing you speak, you have a natural way of winning the hearts, so to speak. Um, and do you have any further thoughts on what that means for people that that might be an unfamiliar concept?

Ken Honda:
Yes, I think, uh, winning the hearts. I should, uh, be more specific. Connecting the hearts. You know, like, uh, if I would start a flower shop, I would just, uh, uh, put my love into, uh, flowers that I sell or flowers that I grow. So a lot of people, my customers would be like me who love flowers. Right? So, uh, in a sense, we are on the same wavelength. We are, uh, on the same feeling level, like, you know, today, I was so happy to see you. Daniel and I were somewhat similar colors. Right? So I feel like, uh, okay, we are in the same wavelength. Right? So if your customers and clients are like that, and then you love, uh, say a heart, and you love, uh, you love a beautiful flowers, you love aromatherapy, you love coaching. Whatever the love you share with your clients, you're like buddies, right? So, uh, for me, uh, when I publish books, uh, my first print will be like 20,000 copies or 30,000 copies. That means 30,000 people are on the same wavelength as I am. So people resonate with me. So whatever, I thought, it's neat. Uh, my friends all around the world just resonate with me. So if you have that many people, uh, and we are in the same level, you know, we're connected. Our hearts are connected. And then, uh, whatever I do gets supported by the people who feel like, okay, no, it's great. And, uh, so, uh, I've been doing this for 20 years, right? So every day I'm connecting dots, I'm connecting hearts. You know, I'm. I'm just open to myself. Uh, I'm. I'm opening up myself to the people that I can serve. And then some people love me. Some people don't. Don't like me. That's the way it goes, right? Some people love my long hair. You know, it's a, uh. It's really against the rule in Japan. Like in my man of my age. Like long hair, you know, hippie or rebel, right? And both, actually. But. So some people like, like me, some people don't like me. It's okay. But as long as I'm connected with one person, two people, three, four, five. And then if I have enough people, you know, I can make a living. And, uh, I'm very happy for that. So, you know, when you think of marketing, you have to do social media and you have to do this, you have to dance in front of the camera or whatever, you know, just, uh, you know, have to perform. You need to be who you are. And then if, uh, enough people like you and then you can be successful as an entrepreneur.

Daniel Aaron:
Well, that's perfect because as you were speaking in the first part of that, what occurred to me is, in a way it sounds like you're just making it simple. You're saying, just be yourself, right? And of course, yeah, some people aren't going to vibe with you, some people will. There's a lot of people in the world, and we don't need that many to vibe with us. Uh, you know, I for many years I avoided reading, even though I knew it was a classic. I avoided reading How to Win Friends and Influence People. Like I had some kind of judgment from when I was young thinking, I don't know, that sounds like some kind of manipulation.

Ken Honda:
Yes, this sounds like that.

Daniel Aaron:
It sounds like that. But then when I eventually read it, I was like, oh, this is just really pure hearted advice. It's it's care about people. Be yourself. And and of course, the big lesson that everybody quotes from that is people like to do business with others that they know, like and trust. And so the question that comes to me with all of that. Was it natural for you to to be yourself and just open yourself up, or is that something that you needed to work at?

Ken Honda:
You know, uh, I'm still working on it, you know? Um, when I started to do this in English, I was so afraid. I was so scared, you know, even though I had nothing to lose. But I didn't know if people would accept me as as I am. Because my way of thinking is very unique about money. You know, I was like that in Japan, too. But I must sound so bizarre. Is your money is smiling, you know, in a in the Western world. But I, I thought, okay, I mean, this is who I am. And if people like it, like me, it's okay. If people don't, it's okay. So, um, instead of just proving that I'm just, uh, great or I just. No, no at all, um, I decided to be myself, and, uh, I cannot be different. So, uh, if people respect what I teach, that's great. And if people don't get it, it's kind of sad, but it's okay. You know, I accept that, uh, the fact. So I've been that way for the past four years. That's why I'm very, uh, happy. Because I'm here to share what I know. And it's up to you if you take advantage of it or if you ignore it. If you think this. This is nonsense. You know, it's the same in Japan, too. Some people loved it and other people didn't like it. And it's it's the truth, you know?

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. Well, okay. So then I think we, we we must step down that road a little bit. And, and I wonder for you, before I ask you the obvious question, I wonder for you, like, I always think about the, the, the big bands in, you know, that we know about and they have their, their one or 2 or 3 songs that everybody knows and wants to hear over and over again. And, and do they get tired of playing it or do they enjoy it? So the question that you must be asked like eight zillion times is can what is happy money? What does that mean?

Ken Honda:
You know, the funny thing is that I never get bored or just, you know, I, I find it so fascinating every time. So, uh, happy money is money that makes you smile when you receive it and when you spend it. And, uh, I really enjoy happy money in my life, you know, happy money. It comes in as a result of helping some somebody, and they come back and say, appreciate you, Daniel. You did such a great job. Thank you. This is my happy money for you. So if people just come in and just give you the money, you feel happy. For example, whatever I do, I give um, uh, money guarantee system. So all the money is all the money in my account is filtered through. Uh, if people didn't like it, I'll return the money. So all the money in my bank account or all the all the things I have in my room, I bought with happy money. People appreciated me, uh, for doing what I what I do and then pay the money. As a result, I pay the taxes and then all my money is smiling. On the other hand, unfortunately, 95% of us are in the flow of unhappy money, which makes us feel small, irritated, frustrated when we receive it, and also when we spend it. When we pay bills, we feel, oh, you know, that's too much. Or when we pay taxes like I don't want to pay. So, you know, bad energy gets attached to the money you receive and the money you spend. So the choice is yours. It's not how much money you make or how much money you have. It's about your attitude toward money. And if you change your relationship with money, your life will change dramatically. I have experienced myself and then I have impacted millions of people this way. And it doesn't cost you anything. You know, you don't have to take my courses or you don't have to even buy my book. The concept, uh, of appreciating your money, coming in and going out changes your, um, relationship with money. And it's a good start.

Daniel Aaron:
Well, that's powerful. And I can say for myself, I grew up in a lower middle class family in the US, and my mother and father, they were like, you know, cats and dogs upset with each other all the time. And it was mostly about money, or at least on the surface. And without even knowing, there was another way of looking at the world. I grew up with this real, you know, poverty, scarcity mentality. And then in my early 20s, I discovered something called the Abundance Book. And it was a 40 day prosperity spiritual prosperity program. And fascinatingly, when when I started, I didn't even want to do it. It was required for a program I was taking I didn't want. For some reason, I resisted it. You know, my ego, no doubt. Um. However, when I went into it, it changed my perspective on money, on abundance, uh, and it radically shifted my life. I'm so grateful for it. So what else can you say? I'd love if, you know, if you could offer more. I'm sure you've got so much experience in this for people that are hearing what we're talking about and they're like, oh yeah, I'm not so happy with money or I have fear around it or tightness around it. Um, what are some more things you know, they can think about or do to get a happier relationship?

Ken Honda:
Mhm. Thank you for asking. So you know money can pull out the best and the worst from us. You know we, we, we can feel joy, love and friendship and generosity through money. But at the same time we feel resentment, anger, you know, uh, hatred and despair, uh, frustration, all kinds of things, but a negative things around money as well. So you have to really pay attention. Uh, what brings out, uh, from you? So if it's mostly negative stuff, you association with money is negative. It's nothing wrong. It's how we are brought up. So we have to kind of like start looking at what's on the plate. Okay. Why do I think money is so bad? You know, why is it what happened to me? And after just, uh, researching your money history, uh, it's usually involving your family members. Could be your parents, could be your brothers, or, you know, your siblings and could be your relatives, your neighbors. And you could realize that. Wow. I've been brainwashed by these guys. You know, uh, they're soaked up to this poverty consciousness. That's why I was frustrated with money. And then, uh, you can get out of that trance of, like, you know, I had I had to work so hard to get it. I have to work hard to bring food on the table. So once you're out of the trance, you realize that money circulates in a very beautiful way. Once you start noticing how money circulates, you can join in the flow by opening up, uh, yourself to it and by helping other people, by doing what you're good at, what you love, you're vibrates. And then whatever you do will, uh, you know the quality. It depends on the quality and the quantity of your service. If you help more people in a good way, the money will come back. If you're frustrated and if you get stay angry. And if you don't do much, um, for a job, you don't get paid well. So you have to start giving more, appreciating more. And as a result, you start getting paid more. And once you know, okay, this is how it works, you want to do more. You want to give more. The more you give, more you receive.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful, I love that. I feel like for me personally, my, my, I could summarize my life in some way as, as going from my early learning and conditioning from my family and American culture being it's about me. What can I get? How can I hold on? How can I make myself bigger in some way? And you know, little by little, steadily learning. It's not about me. It's about how much I can give. It's about how much I can serve. Um, and I feel like every time I take a step, I learn something about that. My life opens up, it gets bigger, and there's always. There's always more. There's always another level to go with that.

Ken Honda:
Yes, exactly.

Daniel Aaron:
So well, okay. There's so many directions we could go. All of what you're saying is powerful. You spoke about giving away, right? And I heard generosity, I heard service. Um, earlier you mentioned, uh, a staggering number of books that you have given away. Could you tell tell our audience some about that part of your journey?

Ken Honda:
Yes. 22 years ago, I had a lot of time. So I had, uh, so much time reading books. And one of the books said, what you give, you receive, you know, you hear it all the time, right? Like, but I thought, really, you know, so I wanted to test it myself. So, uh, the thing I came up is that I wanted to share what I knew. So I just printed my booklets, as I said, and I started giving away. And the more I more I gave. I should receive. But. But it cost me so much to print, and I just, uh, covered a, uh, postage as well. So I got a lot of, uh, uh uh, uh, requests for more booklets. But, uh, after becoming an author, the more booklets I give, the more books I sold. So for book royalties, you know, I ended up giving away 2.3 million physical booklets, which cost me about $3 million us for a gift. It's a lot, right? But after 20 years, what happened is that I sold 9 million copies of my, uh, physical books or like a digital downloads as well on, on Amazon. So I gained about 13 US million dollars, uh, for book royalties. So after 20 years, I gave away three medium and I received 13 million. So it's like $10 million plus. And, uh, I've done other things as well. So my money correspondent courses, online courses and other things, I got so much money back. So the more I gave, literally, it's not what I gave, what I will receive. It's it's it's it comes back ten times more. So that's why I encourage everybody to try testing out your given experiment. Right. So you can start with a quarter, a dollar, $10 and see how it goes. You know, it's so exciting and scary at the same time. So, you know, if you just start giving more than $100, you know, it's like a roller coaster ride. Like, you know, you have to trust this work or not. But, uh, I've, you know, uh, challenged hundreds of thousands of people, uh, all over the world. And I'm just hearing incredible, uh, results.

Ken Honda:
The funny thing is, the more you give people notice, you, you know, uh, you're willing to go extra mile. That's why they people, uh, pay you extra, extra dollars for your service and who you are. So the more you give, uh, your hearts and more passion, more service, more love and more generosity you put into your work, people will notice it. So, you know, I write, uh, my books with all my heart in it. Every letter I type, I pour my love into it. Uh, I, I just pray while I write. So my readers can, can feel the love that I put into my prayer that I wrote, uh, between the lines. So that's why people responded, uh, you know, by recommending my books to other people. So I think people can feel my prayer, uh, between the lines. So people can feel your coaching sessions full of love and that that's why they want to come back to you. That's why they want to refer their friends to you. So your love really pays the best interest.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful. That's. And it's amazing that you took the experiment on. And I can imagine it being a bit scary, especially in the beginning. Um, and that you stayed with it and that you, you know, showed the ROI on it. That's fantastic. So it brings to mind, uh, there's a book a few years ago called I think the title is Give and Take by Adam Grant. You're familiar with it? Yes. Right.

Ken Honda:
Spoke with the author, too. Yes.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. He's a great author. I mean, I love so much of what he's put forward and and the premise of the book for, you know, for anybody in our audience who doesn't know it is like basically ask the question, who does better in life? The people that are the takers or the people that are the givers and and we tend to I don't know, I think as a culture, at least the US culture, we we tend to have this idea that that the sharks in the market, the ones that are aggressive and pushy and out there for themselves, that they're the ones that do the best. And part of what, uh, Adam Grant reveals through a lot of research is, well, the givers actually end up doing better, but not all of them, right? There are some givers who who don't, I don't know, maybe they don't value themselves, or they give away too much or they have trouble receiving. Um, so part of what I hear you saying, Ken, is there's just so much power in beauty, in giving. Are there any caveats to that or any ways that that can go wrong?

Ken Honda:
Thank you. So, you know, I'm not a naive giver. You know, uh, one of the national bestsellers I wrote is do what you love and make sure money follows you. And a lot of people do the first part and, you know, do what they love, but they forget about the money part. They just run with it and then they forget the money is is not, is not following you. So you have to give but you have to be willing to receive as well. I teach money, emotional intelligence according to money EQ principles. The first lesson of money EQ is to receive. So you have to receive well in order to give. So unless you receive, you cannot give. So you have to find yourself in the cycle of receiving, enjoying and trusting and giving. So, uh, you cannot just give, give, give and die. You know, you have to be willing to receive and give. So if you create, if you can create a cycle of receiving and giving, you are in heaven, uh, because, you know, um, you can really enjoy it. One time I was, uh, in, uh, I used to live in the northern part of Japan where, uh, a lot of, uh, apples, uh, we have a lot of apple orchards in the in the area, like New England. Right. So one time in the autumn, uh, my kindergarten, my daughter's kindergarten, uh, was a part of, uh, Apple Orchard Farms. So I wanted to help them financially. So I bought 100 bucks, uh, boxes of apples. And then I send them to my friends. And the funny thing is, uh, a few days or sometimes a week, uh, later, I got a lot of back boxes back with tangerines, you know, in in a month when a grade school, like, three apples, four tangerines, you know, uh, how do you exchange it? You know, that kind of, uh, equations in their, in their minds. So, uh, our, our house is well known because we do a lot of, uh, sending and, you know, receiving boxes. And the Fedex guy knew who I was. So this guy was saying, Ken, you're just. You got a lot of delivery for a tangerines, but, you know, tangerines, they go bad in 4 or 5 days, so.

Ken Honda:
Okay. Okay, okay. I cannot eat them all. You take one box and then I got like 10 or 15, uh, boxes of tangerines. So. Okay, so I decided to send those to my other friends who are not the first 100 Apple guys. Right. Look what I got after a week. I got a lot of apples back from this tangerine people that I sent to. So this Fedex guy was laughing, sir, you know, you got a lot of apples back. What are you going to do? So I get I, I just did this again. And then the cycle of giving and receiving never ended. It was so funny. And so like, uh, you know, that's what that's going to happen to you. The more you give, more you receive more you give more you receive. I think it's what I call it's a gift war, you know, and you can't win.

Daniel Aaron:
That's awesome. It's a very fruitful experiment you had there.

Ken Honda:
Yes, exactly.

Daniel Aaron:
So the title of that book, um, do what you love and make sure the money follows you. Did I get that right?

Ken Honda:
Mhm.

Daniel Aaron:
Right. Which sounds like. I don't know if.

Ken Honda:
It's in Japanese though. Sorry. Okay.

Daniel Aaron:
Well, it sounds like. I don't know if you meant it this way, but it sounds like a little bit of a play on the Joseph Campbell thing. Right. Which is, um, which people debate a lot. Joseph Campbell said something like, do what you love and the money will follow. Right? Something like that. And a lot of people say, uh huh.

Ken Honda:
Sometimes, not all the time. So.

Daniel Aaron:
So yeah. How well can you say more about that? How do, um, how do what do you have to do? What do people have to do? Those people that you know are running ahead of the money or not catching, letting it catch up to them?

Ken Honda:
Yeah. So, you know, it's a common sense if you want to sing, for example, if you're not as good as Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift, who would want to attend your concert? Right. And if you're cooking is not good, who would pay for it? So you're cooking, singing, writing has to be at a certain level, at least a professional level. So you have to be at least, uh, professionally good. Otherwise people will not pay their precious money. That's number one. And number two is you have to combine a few gifts, you know, just, uh, if you could be a singer, but also if you could be, uh, a life coach, you could maybe sing a song to support people's lives. So you may not be as great singer as you are, but because of the message, you could be popular. So, uh, I'm a healer. And I'm a writer and I'm a speaker. So my seminar often, uh, I deal with, uh, money paying in the past. And also I come from the western part of Japan where a lot of comedians are. So I make a lot of jokes. So my seminar is very funny. You know, usually I make funny, sometimes very twisted, you know, uh, jokes on money because, you know, whatever. We deal with money. It's half very humorous, you know, because we are so serious about that. Right? So I combine my gifts of, uh, comedian, healer and philosopher. That's why people come to my seminar. Uh, it's entertainment. And at the same time, people start thinking about their life deeply. So, uh, you have to combine 3 or 4 gifts that you have and then come up with, uh, the, the, uh, your own brand or own blend, I should say. So people will be really appreciating who you are. So I think Daniel is you are the very same unique kind. You are the combination of philosopher. And also you're a communicator. You're a healer, you are a teacher. You are a supporter. You know, you're a very generous person. So the combination of those, uh, create a very attractive personality. That's why people listen in. Whoever the guest is. People love to listen to you, Daniel. So, you know, that's that's what's happening. So if you can be focused on more of what you do and just run with it, and people will just love you enough so they will start paying you.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful. And thank you for the kind words. I. I recall when I went off to university and, uh, in my family, I, my, my parents said you could do anything you want as long as you're a doctor or a lawyer. Right. And so I was I was going to be a lawyer. But then partially partway through school, I realized, like, yeah, my heart's not in it. And I studied philosophy. And of course, every, every adult in the universe said, what are you going to do with that? How are you going to get a job with that? And I said, I don't know. But somehow I knew and I'm just lucky to have trusted enough that that doing what I felt compelled to do, where my heart was, would pay off in some way. That was the thing to do, to do. And a lot of my life I studied yoga and I learned about the Hindu concept of dharma, right? Which is what's your unique purpose? And only maybe 4 or 5 years ago did I learn the concept of ikigai, which I'm imagining that, you know, something about. Um, and it seems like it relates a lot to what you're speaking about. Um, is there more you could say about that concept for people that might not know it?

Ken Honda:
Yeah. So I'm actually writing a short book on ikigai and happy money, because ikigai can bring happy money into your life. So ikigai is a concept that, uh, very close to Dharma, so it doesn't have to be, uh, an occupation. It's about what? Why you're, uh, born here. So it could be as small as sweeping the, uh, streets in front of your house. And so kids can just, uh, be safe and clean. So it's just a little tiny thing that you feel so, uh, uh, motivated and inspired to. So if you find, uh, what you're good at, what you feel, uh, driven to. You are already in heaven, so find your ikigai. And then if you. This is from my part. So after finding ikigai, set up a system so you can receive some kind of financial reward as well. Like I have one of the largest online salons in Japan. I have thousands of people on membership. So. Uh, people become a member by paying, uh, $8.88. And, uh, we have an online community, right. And it's not a lot, but I don't do so much. It's just, uh, about a community, uh, of sense of sharing and just, um, nice stories. And there are many, you know, off meetings and online meetings and and whatnot. So I've been supported by thousands of people in terms of that, uh, online salon. And also I've been supported by many readers who just keep buying my books. So, uh, I'm sort of running my company as a, um, uh, NPO or or nonprofit organization so I can help, uh, young people learn about, uh, learn more about money and, uh, people who have less, uh, fortune about, uh, their financial education. I help them, uh, learn more about money. So I've been supported by thousands of people monthly. That's why I can just be free of do a lot of free of service. Uh uh, 80% or 90% of what I do. I do it for free, you know, and, uh, and the last, the last 10% pay me very well. So I'm okay financially. So, uh, the more I, uh, share, the more I receive in terms of, uh, right now, it's more about emotional reward for me.

Ken Honda:
So, like, doing this interview is also, uh, my, uh, act of love, uh, act of ikigai, you know, uh, because people once they really get this idea of transforming their relationship with money, uh, you have definitely more peace of mind, more, uh, more excitement and less worries around money and the future. So if you're more excited about a future and less worries about, um, uh, your financial plan, then you can be more nice to your kids. You can be nicer to your husband and wife. It's just a waste that we fight over money and we do a lot. It's so unfortunate. Money is just energy, you know? Don't. It's not worth fighting for.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. Thank you. That's beautiful. One of my one of my heroes is Martin Luther King Junior. Right. And of course, he's really well known for his work for the civil rights movement and, you know, helping to create rights for black skinned Americans or African Americans in the 60s. And but what a lot of people don't know about him is in the last years of his life, he turned his attention in part to eradicating poverty. Right. And part of what he was focused on was saying, poverty is a big part of what's causing this. All these racial problems, all this dislike. And so if we can get deeper to the root of it, and some people criticized him and said, you know, you shouldn't be focusing on that. But I always really appreciated that. And it feels like that's a lot of what you are doing is really getting to a deeper root of a lot of the problems in our world.

Ken Honda:
Mhm. Yes, I saw a gray and it's not just about the poverty but it's more about a scarcity mentality. You know, once we are just plagued with this idea that I need more, I need to get from somebody else. No it's not, it's the money is like air. You know, you can breathe in as much as you want and breathe out as much as you want, and nobody complains. But if you live in a scarcity mentality, money becomes like, uh, ice or water. And that requires management. If there's too much water in your life, it becomes flood. A lot of rich kids, you know, experience this. You know, uh, your family can get washed away because it's too much money. And and once again, if there's not enough money, it becomes a drought. That's not fun either, because you dry out. So, um, not, uh, too much, not too little. Uh, the middle is very important. But once you focus on what you really love doing and then you receive enough money becomes there. So I'm dreaming that in the future, ten, 20 years from now, people think of money as just there. You know, it's it's, you know, it's there, but you don't pay much attention. And especially you don't worry about it. Right. Like, do I have enough air today. You know, at the end of the month, like, do I have enough air to breathe? You know, you can breathe in as much as you want. So when you, uh, worry about money next time, breathe in as much air as you want and breathe out. Do that for three minutes and then check how you feel. You would feel very differently.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful. I love that one of the things that I've done off and on through my career is led people with a kind of a healing modality called of with a breath, a breathwork kind of modality. And one of the jokes I always make with that is, hey, the great thing about this therapy, it's breath. And so far there's nobody charging for it and the governments are not regulating it. You can breathe as much as you want. So I love that that connection to money with it. Um, so something you said there sparked a question for me that I've wondered about for many years. I've never spoken about. There's a line in the movie Jesus Christ Superstar right in, in and there's a line in there that says something like, uh, and I forget who's speaking, but somebody's saying, speaking to Jesus, saying, you know, there are always the poor, there will always be the poor and struggling. Right? It's kind of like the council there is, you know, don't worry too much about them. You're not going to be able to save everybody. There's always going to be somebody that's poor and struggling. What do you think about that is, is that is that the way it has to go, or is there a possibility that everybody, you know, can move out of poverty consciousness and we can really have a greater abundance in the world.

Ken Honda:
You know, like, uh, when we are looking at, uh, modern world, you know, uh, I think if people come from 200 years ago, they'll be shocked because even the poorest person can be so fat, you know, they have enough food. So in that sense, I think we are free from poverty. It's just about the comparison, you know, uh, he gets the newest iPhones. I don't, you know, stuff like that. So. But we have all like, you know, smartphones. So in that sense, I think we will be free from poverty, uh, will be free from, uh, survival. But that doesn't mean that we we would not feel poor, because if people have, uh, more. And then if you feel like you have less and if you compare and if you think you're bad, that's poverty. So I think that the poverty would be like, uh, not comparing, uh, anything, uh, with other people. Like, it's almost like, uh, the length of your hair. Uh, I have a longer hair. That's why I'm gray. Uh, some people have less hair, so you're not good, you know? And if you have less hair, you may be King Daniel. So I'd be jealous of you, right? So, like, who is better? Longer hair or no hair, right? So if, uh, I think if we, uh, compare with each other, like, which is better, right? He has only he only has long hair. He has no hair. Both are beautiful. If we come up with, uh, like that, like with money, I think we'll have no poverty because we have nothing to compare. Which is better? Which is worse? So I think, uh, it's going to take some, some time for us because we love to compare, you know, uh, we love to compare. We are good, we are bad. We are less fortunate. We are more or less so unless we just, uh, uh, free from that comparison. Uh, we be stuck in this hell. It's nothing to do with money. It's about who we are.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah, absolutely. Well and we all we all know it. Somebody can have seemingly very little or somebody can have a ton in either way feel poor or in the flip side, have very little, have a ton and feel completely abundant. Right. So much, so much about our perception and attitude for it. So can you mentioned earlier about a new book and, um, and maybe there's more than one new book. What's what's coming up for you? What are you excited about?

Ken Honda:
Thank you. So my second English book will finally come out I have tons I, I have already translated a 3 or 4 into English, and the second one will come out from a big publisher. It's called hay House. Um, the title is True Wealth. It's a novel about the grandfather leaving no money, uh, to his grandson. He's super wealthy, but he set up this foundation. He donates all the money to charity. So one day, this 20 year old boy receives a package from his grandfather's lawyer. And in that package, uh, there's a letter. Hey, grandson. Sorry, I. The bad news is I'm not going to leave you any money for you. But the good news is I'm going to leave you nine letters. Go enjoy the world. Good luck. And then this boys up opens up a package. Each letter has a title. The first one is synchronicity. The second one is decision. The third one is action. So he opens one one letter after another. He gets guided by synchronicity and a new thing happens. And then he learns about a life, uh, his, his father, his grandfather, and, uh, the important lessons in life. So there are nine lessons, uh, from a grandfather. So it's a fiction. Um, and I hope Netflix is making it a movie out of this. So it I saw a lot of copies in Japan, and it's finally in English, and, uh, um, uh, it'll be out in many different languages.

Daniel Aaron:
Wow. That's exciting. As you speak of it, I think of, um, Pablo Coelho and and, uh, El Camino. What's the English title for? Um, and I think of the greatest salesman in the world and the scrolls. Yes. You know, The.

Ken Honda:
Alchemist is, uh, the inspiration that I got. So, uh, this is like the modern alchemist in action. So I, uh, a lot of young Japanese people just carry this book and just go out in the world and just search for the synchronicity and the meaning of ikigai. So I hope, uh, English speakers would, uh, would, would enjoy it. And if you are into, uh, self-development and also, um, if you're interested in learning about who you are, this book is will be a must read for young people. That's what I hope.

Daniel Aaron:
So. Well, that's beautiful. And we know it's so much easier for all of us to to learn from story. Right. And the way you're describing and it sounds like a fable in the sense that it's a story, yet has some deep lessons and truth in it.

Ken Honda:
Yes, yes. So in English I'm regarded as a happy money guy, but I'm a novelist, so I have many other great stories to be translated. So this will be the second and the third and the fourth will be coming soon.

Daniel Aaron:
Oh that's exciting. Good. I don't speak Japanese yet, so I'm excited for that.

Ken Honda:
Yes, we're working hard on it.

Daniel Aaron:
So, uh, Ken, I am sure that many people will want to get in touch with you, learn from you, connect with you. What's the best way for people to tune in to the world of Ken Honda?

Ken Honda:
Thank you. So you can Google me and Ken Ken Honda and you'll see a lot of videos on YouTube. And also you can check all the information at Ken Honda. Com. Com Ken Honda. Com you'll find all the free information we didn't touch uh today. But you can figure out your money personality type. You can be a spender gambler and money maker and money warrior and all that. So you'll find a lot of information there for free.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful. Well, um, living what you're teaching, you're giving a lot away. And I love the, um, the mission that you have to empower people. Uh. It's beautiful. Okay, well, that may bring us around to the final question. The big question. Um, would it be okay if I ask you the big final question?

Ken Honda:
Yes, please.

Daniel Aaron:
No, it's it's it's impossible because it's you've got so much experience, so much knowledge. I'm going to I'm asking you to condense it all so there's no way you can do it. But that means you also can't get it wrong. So the question is this given all your knowledge and experience, if you were to advise someone, help them how to create a vibrant, thriving life. What do you say?

Ken Honda:
That's a very, very good question, I would say. Enjoy life both positive and negative. Because, uh, you positive things can be turned into negative stuff. Negative stuff can be turned into positive stuff. So if you have the mastery of enjoying both, you're in heaven. So enjoy. Um, enjoy life either positive or negative. Because at the, you know, near the end of your life, you remember like all the, uh, tough spots, you kind of remember, oh, that was so bad, you know, and all the good stuff. You kind of cherish it. So, uh, if you can enjoy both, you don't have to worry about for the rest of your life.

Daniel Aaron:
That's beautiful, I love it. Well, fantastic. Ken, I'm so grateful that you've taken this time to be with us. And not only this time for us to speak here and to share with people, but the journey that you've been on, that's taken a lot of courage. You've had so much growth, so much generosity, so much work in becoming who you are. That's so valuable to the world. Plus, thank you for all of that.

Ken Honda:
Thank you so much, Daniel. And, uh, thank you for sharing some time with us. And I really appreciate the viewers and listeners of this program. And please support Daniel. He's such a beautiful soul. So thank you, Daniel, for being who you are.

Daniel Aaron:
Very kind. Thank you. And I echo Ken's words to y'all in the audience. Thank you. Because it's because of you that we get to do this, and it's because of you being interested in creating your life into greater vibrancy. It's so worthwhile. Not only do you deserve it, not only is it your birthright, you doing that actually does literally make the world a brighter, better place. So thank you. And again, please so much that Ken offer today, take at least one of those gold nuggets and say, yeah, I'm going to try that out. I'm going to put that into place in my life. Y'all. Thank you so much for joining us. Please tune in again soon. And in the meantime, make your life a masterpiece. Aloha! Mahalo for tuning in to the Art of Vibrant Living show y'all! I'm Daniel Aaron and may you live with great vibrancy.

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